Spike Bulldog
Spike Bulldog is a character from the Tom and Jerry franchise, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. He is an anthropomorphic English Bulldog. He has a somewhat minor friendship with Jerry and is a formidable enemy to Tom, who sees him as his agonist. Though he is occasionally a rival to both the dyad, as shown in his debut in the 1942 animated short film Dog Trouble.
Spike's fiercest behavior is reserved for anyone who interferes with Tyke, but also, Spike's generally well-intentioned brain is at times easily outwitted by Tom and/or Jerry. Jerry also arranges to get Tom in trouble with Spike, provoking a chase, and/or a pounding from the bulldog, and Spike will keep Tom's attention off Jerry for a while. Several stories also have Jerry taking advantage of Spike and Tyke's size and proximity, as he often tries to hide or sleep with or near Spike and Tyke for protection.
History[]
Spike made his early appearance as an unnamed Bulldog in the 1942 Tom and Jerry cartoon Dog Trouble, he appears as a somewhat realistically designed mute bulldog. In his first named appearance and his first speaking role was in The Bodyguard (1944), where he was voiced by Billy Bletcher, Spike also appears to being an anthropomorphic bulldog. Spike was voiced by Bletcher until 1949, from which point he was voiced by Patrick McGeehan, Jerry Mann, Bob Shamrock, John Brown, Stan Freberg, and Daws Butler, with a thick New Yorker accent similar to Jimmy Durante's.
In his early appearance in Dog Trouble, Spike as an unnamed Bulldog as the short's antagonist, chasing and attacking both Tom and Jerry on sight, even trying to eat Jerry, which forced the two to work together to defeat him. However, in his second appearance in The Bodyguard, after Jerry willingly saved him from being poached in a dogcatcher truck, he became Jerry's protector whenever needed. In all subsequent shorts, Spike becomes typecast as the stereotypical dumb brute who is always duped into becoming a shield for Jerry from Tom. It is only in two episodes where Jerry gets Spike out of a jam and the dog willingly protects him from Tom in well-earned gratitude (The Bodyguard and Fit to Be Tied). On most occasions, Jerry causes trouble for Tom by luring him near Spike and harming him to get him angry, and in some cartoons when it's perfectly obvious that Tom is not responsible, as seen in The Invisible Mouse, Spike still blames Tom and hurts him instead of Jerry. Only on one occasion does Jerry fail to frame Tom, in Hic-Cup Pup where Tom unintentionally cures Spike and Tyke's hiccups, and Spike shakes Tom's hand.
Spike, however, is not without a softer and sympathetic side: in the episode Pet Peeve, after believing that Tom is willing to leave the house in Spike's favour, Spike feels sorry for him to the point that he offers to leave instead, which Spike does until he realises that Tom is only using reverse psychology to trick him into leaving. In The Truce Hurts, Spike is portrayed as a very intelligent and equilibrated character when he convinces Tom and Jerry to stop the fighting among the three of them and sign a Peace Treaty, but their newfound friendship comes to an end when they argue over how to share a big steak, symbolised when Spike tears the truce contract to shreds and they go back to fighting again after Tom accidentally threw the steak into the sewer drain. From the 1944 cartoon The Bodyguard to 1948 cartoon The Truce Hurts, he was voiced by Billy Bletcher. His first name is Bulldog in Dog Trouble, His name also varies in some shorts: in Puttin' on the Dog, Solid Serenade and Cat Fishin' he is named "Killer", and in The Truce Hurts he signs his name "Butch" on the treaty peace paper.
After Dog Trouble, Spike has appeared as a solo guest in Tom and Jerry cartoons for the next several years; his son Tyke was introduced in 1949, with Love That Pup.
Trivia[]
- Spike interacted with Jerry's entire family, including Jerry's cousin Muscles and Uncle Pecos.
Gallery[]
